Grasping the Evil

Chapter 1192: Immortal Stone

The Light Ancestor Abyss has twelve layers, which were once the territory of the Light Clan ancestors, and now have become the breeding grounds of the Light Ants.

The All-Knowing Elder has established dozens of hidden caves here, serving as research labs, with the largest one built somewhere on the sixth layer of this Abyss.

Ning Fan followed the All-Knowing Elder, racing across this desert. After traveling for an unknown period, two towering shadowy figures suddenly appeared in front of them, seeming like two giants reaching into the clouds.

The perception limits here are great, further obscured by the sandy wind, making it difficult for Ning Fan to see what those massive shadows were. Upon closer inspection, he discovered they were two black mountains, with an ancient sand city built between them.

This sand city appears to have been abandoned for countless years, but many dilapidated buildings remain, suggesting the existence of ancient civilization; of course, it’s also possible that the sand city itself is the illusion crafted by the Ant Lord, and everything is mere illusion...

"Here we are, the little troublemaker you’re looking for is here! Let’s go down!"

The All-Knowing Elder collected the Golden Eagle Puppet, leading Ning Fan to descend upon this sand city.

The All-Knowing Elder himself is fine, he’s the master of this sand city, and there’s nothing inappropriate about his entry. However, Ning Fan was an outsider, and as soon as he stepped into the city, the immense black mountains on either side seemed to come alive, fixing on him with killing intent! With the earth trembling and mountains shaking, numerous black dragon-like shadows spewed from the black mountains above, swirling black clouds, darkening the skies.

"Black Dragon, Second Dragon, don’t be mischievous! This young friend is not an enemy!"

At the Elder’s words, the two black mountains immediately calmed down, returning to their lifeless looks, as if they were really just two mountain peaks.

Ning Fan understood instantly; using mountains as tombs and cave guards was not something he encountered for the first time, naturally preventing any surprise.

However, the guards of these two black mountains seemed to have not low cultivation... both having the cultivation of Immortal Emperor puppet guards! Using Immortal Emperor puppets as gatekeepers, the All-Knowing Elder truly has grand means. Considering the donkey he rides is nearly a Quasi-Saint, Ning Fan thus felt relieved...

"Young friend, what do you think of these two ’Dark Apocalypse Dragon Emperor Puppets’?"

"..."

"Haha! Not even interested in Immortal Emperor puppets, young friend truly isn’t a mortal!"

[No, what I’d dismiss is merely the idiotic names you’ve given the gate puppets...] Ning Fan internally expressed his speechlessness. He’s now thoroughly convinced that the naming level of this All-Knowing Elder is even worse than his own.

The two walked within the sand city for about a quarter of an hour until the All-Knowing Elder suddenly stopped at a dried-up well.

There are about thirty to fifty such dried wells scattered throughout the sand city, but the All-Knowing Elder specially stopped here, having his reasons of course.

"Paper money buys the path, the dried well opens the door!" The Elder took some paper money made from talisman paper from his storage pouch, scattering it into the well, while chanting a mantra.

Suddenly, the dried well, which seemed ordinary at first, emitted a bizarre glow, with traces of underground water seeping from its bottom, forming a water surface in the once dried well.

The well water rippled gently, and within the ripples, an eerie human face suddenly emerged on the water’s surface, its tone stiffly saying, "Password! ’When the tiger and rhinoceros escape the cage, oracle bones and jade get destroyed within the box, whose fault is it?’ Answer within ten breaths, wrong answer means obliteration!"

Ning Fan raised his eyebrows slightly, finding it rather intriguing.

This dried well seems to be the entrance to the All-Knowing Elder’s cave abode, unexpectedly designed in such a unique way, requiring a password for entrance...

A peculiar password indeed, Ning Fan recollects, its origin seems to be a certain book frequently cited in mortal scholarly practices, believed to be called "Analects".

The tiger and rhinoceros escape the cage, the oracle bones and ritual jade get destroyed in the container, whose responsibility is it?

The custodians can’t shirk their duty! The answer is straightforward, it’s the fault of the manager!

Ning Fan internally acknowledged the All-Knowing Elder indeed has vast knowledge, befitting his All-Knowing moniker. Even referencing mortals’ "Analects" to set a passcode, isn’t something an ordinary Master could accomplish... Ning Fan felt a subtle admiration for the All-Knowing Elder’s erudition...

"It’s not old man’s fault, it’s the world’s!" The All-Knowing Elder replied.

The blossomed admiration Ning Fan had just developed instantly shattered with a figurative snap.

No problem at all! The well queries the Elder whose fault it is, and the Elder responds the fault lies with the world, nothing wrong with that...

[I overestimated him; this person is truly just an idiot...] Ning Fan grumbled more inwardly, following the All-Knowing Elder yet into the well.

This is a dried-up well, though it seeped underground water, forming a half-foot deep water surface. Upon jumping into the well water, Ning Fan surprisingly began sinking indefinitely.

After unknown further descent, Ning Fan suddenly felt his vision darken, then immediately brightened again, and he found himself extricated from the well water, flying out from the other end of the dried-up well.

The other end of the dried well leads to another desert, another sand city!

Initially, Ning Fan didn’t find anything peculiar about this new desert, but subsequently, he realized something strange... The sand city he’s standing on now is exactly the same as the previous one, only the buildings all mirror each other oppositely...

"I see, Senior’s cave is indeed built within the reflection of the sixth layer!" Ning Fan genuinely felt a sensation of enlightenment.

Reflection!

Both the desert and the sand city Ning Fan sees at this moment are reflections of the sixth layer of the Abyss, naturally identical yet oppositely mirrored!

Being a reflection world, the sixth layer of the Abyss is as vast here as it is there. This reflection world also has black mountains, sand city. Though the black mountains here are merely reflections, not puppet guards; here in the sand city, there are people bustling back and forth, making it lively.

It’s a city established within the reflection world, and the city lord, aside from the All-Knowing Elder, could be none.

"The city lord has returned!"

"City Lord, please let me go! I don’t want to be researched anymore!"

"City Lord..."

As soon as Ning Fan and the All-Knowing Elder appeared in this Inverted Reflection Sand City, all the residents began to shout, some cheering and some pleading for mercy.

Ning Fan scanned with his spirit sense and mildly speechless discovered that those who welcomed the All-Knowing Elder were all puppets crafted by him; and those begging for mercy were basically research materials captured by the elder...

Wait, spirit sense!

"Senior, it seems that spirit sense isn’t restricted in this Inverted Reflection World you’ve opened?" Ning Fan said surprisingly.

"Ha ha! Of course, spirit sense is one of my research topics, naturally, I wouldn’t replicate magnetic interference here." The All-Knowing Elder chuckled triumphantly. He was quite pleased with Ning Fan’s astonished reactions upon entering the Inverted Reflection World.

However, he then remembered that Bei Xiao Man was still wreaking havoc in his territory, causing him headaches and secretly regretting capturing this little demon along with the research materials.

"Help me, help me!"

Suddenly, several Bei Tian cultivators wearing shackles rushed over, seeking help from Ning Fan, but were blocked by a team of puppet soldiers.

These Bei Tian cultivators seemed to be Northern Heavenly Youths, their cultivation levels not high, but each had decent talent.

These Northern Heavenly Youths didn’t know how long they had been held here, and upon seeing Ning Fan without shackles, they desperately sought aid.

Ning Fan furrowed his brow but didn’t respond to their pleas. He knew the All-Knowing Elder wasn’t a benevolent figure, otherwise he wouldn’t capture research materials from everywhere. Unfortunately, Ning Fan didn’t have the power to save people in front of the elder. Facing the All-Knowing Elder, preservation was an achievement, the disparity in strength was too great.

"No mistake, Xiao Man’s aura is indeed in this sand city, it seems the All-Knowing Elder didn’t deceive me, and this place is not wrong. But whether Xiao Man truly gives him headaches as he claims, I’m uncertain...Or maybe he’s just putting on an act, using Xiao Man as bait to lure me here...Distrust is wise, although I owe him some karma, I won’t allow myself to be manipulated..." Ning Fan never lost his basic vigilance. He wouldn’t hold a grudge against the All-Knowing Elder for previous captures, but complete trust was out of the question.

"Heh, I’m sorry to make you laugh, young friend. I have plenty of research materials locked here, if young friend encounters any, please pretend not to. If young friend lets escape those who shouldn’t, I won’t be as amicable, not as peaceful as now." The All-Knowing Elder cautioned.

That wasn’t truly a threat, but he genuinely didn’t want to ruin cordiality over mere research materials.

"Of course, if young friend truly wants to release any research material, I can spare some kindness, as long as young friend is willing to substitute for them, and let me experiment, I have no objection on whom you want to release!"

The All-Knowing Elder stared obsessively at Ning Fan, wishing he would sacrifice himself to save others!

Unfortunately, Ning Fan was never one to martyr for strangers; such a prospect was impossible!

"Sorry, except for Xiao Man, nothing here interests me."

"Uh, are you really Ancient Chaos’ disciple? His altruistic qualities seem not inherited by you!" The All-Knowing Elder lamented.

"Senior seems familiar with my master?"

"Indeed, familiar. Back then, the Immortal Emperor instructed my master to guide Ancient Chaos, enabling him to create the Yin Yang Transformation, Chaos Ring Decision. Uh, who is the Immortal Emperor, who my master...Can’t recall well, for some reason, my memories of the past aren’t complete..." Reflecting on the past, the All-Knowing Elder’s gaze turned bewildered.

It then shifted to maddened, restless!

"Purple Dou, it’s all Purple Dou! He caused my master to lose cultivation! Made my master insane! Turned my master into the laughingstock of the Hongjun Holy Sect! I want to destroy the Zi Dou Immortal Domain, kill all Purple Dou descendants, avenge my master! But master forbids it...Before dispersing his spirit, he only asked me to find...Junior brother...But who is master, Purple Dou, junior brother..."

The All-Knowing Elder gradually regained calm, looking dejected.

He seemed to be someone with a rich story, yet those stories were hazy to him...

Ning Fan’s face changed due to the All-Knowing Elder’s words.

His mad ramblings were terrifying!

The Purple Dou Immortal Emperor had harmed the elder’s master? Were the elder and his master great enemies of the Zi Dou Immortal Domain?

Ning Fan had barely dealt with the Eastern Heaven’s Niu Manshan, only to face yet another mad elder akin to Niu Manshan wanting to destroy Purple Dou descendants...

From the start, Ning Fan knew the Purple Dou Immortal Emperor wasn’t any benevolent person, solely for eliminating Zi Wei, Big Dipper Immortal Domain, and establishing Zi Dou Immortal Domain, already countless bloody storms could be heard. Mortals or immortals alike, all those who made achievements walked over corpses, no exceptions.

Fortunately, the elder’s master seemed to have curbed his actions, thus preventing true revenge on Zi Dou Immortal Domain.

"What were we discussing...? Oh, remembered, young friend asked if I’m familiar with Ancient Chaos? Who is Ancient Chaos, I don’t know this person..." After calming down, the elder seemed to lose much memory, completely forgetting his prior rampage, just recalling Ning Fan’s question.

Yet this time, he forgot who Ancient Chaos was.

"Since senior isn’t familiar with my master, let’s leave it at that..." Worried the All-Knowing Elder might again be stirred by a sensitive topic, Ning Fan refrained from further conversation.

Instead, the elder, forgetting his rampage, returned to his usual zeal, showcasing his creations to Ning Fan along the way.

"Young friend, look, that fire-breathing puppet is my research, the Explosive Reality Exile World Gengzi-Type Puppet!"

"That one’s a flying swords-type puppet, named by me Righteousness Triumphs and Evil Disperses Xinmao-Type Puppet!"

"This one is..."

Deep down, Ning Fan initially deemed the All-Knowing Elder an extremely perilous disruptor, but when he appeared normal, he felt the elder in essence was rather a fool.

This person seemed highly adept in puppet research; unsurprising, for Bei Tian was the pinnacle of puppet arts, the former Ancestral Emperor’s sacrifice of his lifespan, a notable figure in this domain.

However, what surprised Ning Fan was that the omniscient elder was skilled not only in puppetry.

He could also cultivate spiritual insects and spiritual beasts!

Ning Fan followed the omniscient elder all the way to the central palace of Sand City, where the omniscient elder’s research lab was located.

There were many research labs, and in the first lab, Ning Fan saw numerous giant light ants. These light ants were ten times larger than the average light ants of the same grade, and their power was several times greater, seemingly a result of the omniscient elder’s careful cultivation.

Further inside, there were other labs that housed various giant spiritual insects cultivated by the omniscient elder, not just light ants.

In the cultivation world, there is a type of demonic beast known as the Dragon Elephant. This beast is born with immense power but rarely grows to the Immortal Venerable realm. Yet in this place, Ning Fan even saw a Dragon Elephant cultivated to the Immortal King level, an achievement of the omniscient elder.

In the cultivation world, there is a flower demon known as the Xuan Yang Flower Demon, whose tribe consists only of males, with reproduction possible only through division. But here, Ning Fan encountered a female Xuan Yang Flower Demon—not really a female flower demon, but one whose gender was altered by the omniscient elder, looking rather pitiful...

The omniscient elder’s pursuit of research could disregard ethics, instilling fear in Ning Fan, as he had never encountered such a maniacal research lunatic.

He started to worry about Bei Xiaoman’s safety.

If Bei Xiaoman had also undergone the omniscient elder’s crazed research, Ning Fan could not imagine how furious he would be upon learning of it...

Closer, closer.

Up ahead was the last research lab, and Bei Xiaoman’s presence was clearly there.

Within a hundred steps of the lab, the omniscient elder suddenly stopped and sighed heavily.

"Young friend, I dare not go further. The little demon once ordered me not to step within a hundred feet of this place, to avoid disturbing her peace. If I step in, then... Ah, anyway, the last lab, young friend, you’ll have to enter yourself. Remember, be sure to take the little demon away from my lab! By the way, be careful, inside this lab are several stone soldier puppets, transformed by me... transformed by me, so apart from me and the little demon, anyone entering this lab will be killed..." The omniscient elder said helplessly.

Ning Fan nodded, pushed open the iron door of the lab, and stepped inside.

He did not consider whether the omniscient elder’s words were true or false; he’d know upon seeing Xiaoman.

The research lab was larger than Ning Fan expected, and Xiaoman seemed to be at the far end. The moment he pushed the door open, Ning Fan didn’t immediately find Bei Xiaoman, instead getting locked by twelve murderous intents simultaneously!

Twelve stone soldier puppets guarded the outer room of the lab!

The design of these puppets was obviously different from the omniscient elder’s puppetry style, resembling the Stone Warrior brought by Bei Xiaoman to the Rain Immortal World.

But unlike that Nascent Soul stone warrior, the twelve stone soldiers here were far more advanced, each possessing the power of eternal immortal sovereigns!

Being surrounded by twelve immortal sovereign puppets would surely make any ordinary person’s scalp tingle, but Ning Fan merely pointed his finger, and the twelve immortal sovereign puppets were immobilized, unable to move.

"Hmm? This kid can imitate the Reincarnation-Fixing Technique?" The omniscient elder sensed something, somewhat surprised.

Having immobilized the twelve puppets, Ning Fan walked inside, but before he had gone far, a cold female voice filled with murderous intent approached.

"To incapacitate twelve immortals in one move! It seems you’re no ordinary person, then let me, Stone Concubine, kill you personally!"

Unexpectedly, a peak immortal king puppet emerged, and it was a female puppet!

Unlike typical stone soldier puppets, this female puppet had few puppet marks on her, so much so that Ning Fan might have mistaken her for an immortal king woman, were it not for the lack of living aura.

Stop!

Ning Fan once again used the Heaven Sealing Art, immobilizing the female puppet.

Then, he curiously approached, touching the female puppet’s cheek with his finger, surprisingly finding that her skin had elasticity, yet was not made from human skin but was crafted from authentic stone material.

Could there really be stone material as soft as a woman’s skin? No wonder the skin of this female stone soldier puppet felt so realistic...

"How daring! I am Stone God’s concubine, yet you dare to disrespect me! If my power weren’t trapped in the Stone Warriors of the Eight Formations, how could you immobilize me so easily? I will kill you, kill you!" The female stone soldier known as Stone Concubine, her face as cold as frost, her angry demeanor indistinguishable from a real person.

"Stone God? What’s that?"

Surprised, Ning Fan was uninterested in dealing with Stone Concubine, nor did he feel like teasing further; he was simply curious about the materials used to craft Stone Concubine.

Seemingly aware of the commotion in the outer room, a little girl inside the research room, originally sound asleep, awoke.

"So noisy, so early in the morning, can’t a person sleep? Don’t you know lack of sleep is a girl’s enemy? You damned traitors, how shameful as stone soldiers, watch me strip your skin!"

Bei Xiaoman was about to get up and fix those noisy stone warrior puppets, but as she rose from her bed, a man’s aura overwhelmed her.

"Strip the skin? Whose skin do you want to strip? How about I strip yours first, see what’s in your mind, running wild in such a place..."

Ning Fan’s gaze turned slightly dark, his large hand gently traveling across Bei Xiaoman’s body, conducting an inspection.

Fortunately, every part of her body was normal, untouched...

"So, so reckless! Who are you to dare violate me..."

Bei Xiaoman, nearly on the brink of tears from shock!

After leaving Ning Fan, she hadn’t been this close to a man in years. Now, being pinned down on the bed by a stranger and even touched all over, she was almost dying of shame and anger.

But why was this scent so familiar?

A familiar voice.

A familiar face.

Bei Xiao Man’s heart suddenly felt an unspeakable grievance.

It was that super invincible villain Zhou Ming who came looking for her! Was she dreaming!

"Damn! It must be an illusion, I must have fallen into the illusion of this Abyssal Netherworld again! Fellow Daoist Zhou is probably like Second Sister said, enjoying company in the Eastern Heaven now, with all those Nuan’er and Leng’er by his side. How could he think of me, let alone come here to find and rescue me? Stinky Zhou Ming, lousy Zhou Ming! Why would you rather ascend to Eastern Heaven than to Northern Heaven? Surely some shameless woman lured you to the Eastern Heaven! Damn it, how am I worse than those women? I’m beautiful, my voice is sweet, my skills are good, and yet you discard the old for the new... mm..."

Having been poured with a torrent of complaints by Bei Xiao Man, Ning Fan couldn’t help but feel amused.

He didn’t remember Mistress Xiao Man being this kind of resentful woman? Quite interesting. Along his journey, Ning Fan had been under immense life-and-death pressure. At this point, the strings of his heart relaxed, and he no longer felt the need to properly educate Bei Xiao Man, his mind was wholly occupied by other thoughts.

"Whether it’s an illusion or not, wouldn’t you know by feeling it with your body! Hmm?"

With a flicker, he had already embraced Bei Xiao Man and escaped into the Xuan Yin Treasure.

Outside the laboratory, All-Knowing Elder seemed to sense something and felt quite regretful.

"Ah, I thought I could observe the mating of a spirit and female cultivators personally, but it seems this young man doesn’t intend to show me, what a pity, truly a pity... I wonder if during mating, the spirit uses the dog style, or horse riding style, or perhaps there is no difference at all from ordinary men and women..."

...

Inside the Xuan Yin Treasure, Bei Xiao Man was almost hoarse now, she was very sure at this moment that the Ning Fan before her wasn’t an illusion, with such physical intrusion, how could it possibly be an illusion!

"Yo, you’re still as fragile as you used to be, collapsing at one blow." Ning Fan purposely provoked verbally.

It was a simple trick; anyone wouldn’t be fooled.

But Bei Xiao Man just happened to fall for it!

"Nonsense! I am now vastly different from before, Second Sister taught me many techniques, I will definitely drain you dry, crush you severely, make you kneel before my Bei Xiao Man’s knees and lick my toes! Ah, wait, I’m not ready yet... wait... wait... not here... ah... spare me, spare me, Fellow Daoist Zhou, Immortal Zhou..."

"Call me Ning Fan."

"Hmm? What Ning... Fan..."

"Your Second Sister didn’t tell you? I, Zhou Ming, am Ning Fan!"

Slap, slap, slap! While speaking, his actions didn’t slow down.

...

At the same time, another group of guests arrived within the Light Clan.

"Junior Fu Suchen, pays respects to the senor cultivators of the Light Clan." Leading this group was a youth so handsome he seemed like a celestial being, with a confident smile always hanging at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh? Young friend is the new Family Head of the Fu Su Family? That rumored Water Sect Disciple?" Upon hearing that the visitor was Fu Suchen, several Immortal Kings from the Light Clan were all moved.

"Indeed, I am. My teacher heard of the changes in the Light Ancestor Abyss, so he sent me here to offer some help. I’ve brought along the Eight Formation Puppet bestowed by my teacher... This is Senior Immortal Stone." Fu Suchen introduced a snobbish and daunting little old man next to him to the Immortal Kings of the Light Clan.

"What! Your Sect actually invited Senior Immortal Stone too! Excellent! Senior Leize has already entered the Abyss, with Senior Immortal Stone’s help..."

"Hmph! No need for any Leize, I alone am enough!" The short old man named Immortal Stone proclaimed arrogantly, and with a Quasi-Saint aura unfolding, everyone present was left unsteady.

He was actually a Quasi-Saint with mana of eighteen thousand calamities!

"Senior Immortal Stone, don’t be rude!" Fu Suchen slightly frowned, rebuking.

This Immortal Stone was a Quasi-Saint, and a top-notch First Order Quasi-Saint at that, yet for some reason, he didn’t dare to defy Fu Suchen’s words. Hearing him, he immediately retracted his aura, but still wore an arrogant look, turning a blind eye to the Light Clan.

Seeing this, the people of the Light Clan could only smile wryly.

"My visit this time is officially to handle the Abyssal Netherworld matter, but also to deal with some personal matters. Hehe, truth be told, the fiancée that my teacher arranged for me is also within the Abyss right now. Both publicly and privately, I cannot ignore the chaos in this Abyss. On this, all seniors can rest assured."

"Hehe, we forgot about that. The current Rain Master assigned the fourth young lady of Yishi Palace as a wife for the young friend. With the young friend and Senior Immortal Stone stepping in, the safety of Yishi Palace’s fourth lady is not a concern."

"Speaking of which, I’m quite looking forward to the second meeting with my fiancée, hoping it won’t be as unpleasant as the last time... If she dares to be disrespectful to me again this time, hehe, I won’t always be so gentle..."

A faint cold glint flashed in Fu Suchen’s eyes. His master’s orders resurfaced in his mind.

"For the ownership of the Stone Warriors of the Eight Formations, obtain Bei Xiao Man at all costs! Since the Ximen Family voluntarily gave up the engagement with this girl, let it not be said I rudely intervened on behalf of the Water Sect! If you still cannot win over this girl’s heart, you, Fu Suchen, don’t need to come back!"

"Ah, what’s wrong with me, driven to murderous intent over an inexperienced girl, this really shouldn’t be... Such naive young girls can be tamed with just a few words, the last time she slapped me in front of everyone at Yishi Palace, it must have been an accident... No woman has ever refused me again and again, and with this life-saving grace added, I don’t believe she won’t submit to me!"

Fu Suchen has always been confident in attracting women.